Today, many perceive the word homosexual to be a medical term, mainly because of the fact that from the late 19th century until the 1970s this expression was monopolised by the medical approach interpreting same-sex attraction to be a pathology, degeneration or illness. Still, it is important to remember that Kertbeny introduced the word homosexual in the course of the struggle for homosexuals’ rights in a surprisingly modern human rights argumentation. Kertbeny did not seek biological arguments to use for the liberation of homosexuals, – i.e. a relatively small social group with limited power to further their own interests – instead, he made the point that the modern state should extend the principle of not intervening in the private lives of citizens to cover homosexuals, too. Looking back almost one and a half centuries we can state that the case made by Kertbeny helped a significant, modern social movement – the struggle against the discrimination of those who enjoy same-sex relationships – to emerge.